1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to network optimization and, more particularly, to the dynamic determination of client needs.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the growth in mobile data traffic, network congestion has become a major issue for mobile network operators. In response, vendors offer a large number of network appliances—commonly called middleboxes—to alleviate the situation. Middleboxes are designed to reduce transmission delay and improve the throughput of wireless users.
To simplify the configuration and management of client terminals, middleboxes are generally introduced in the network to operate in a transparent mode, where the middlebox transparently intercepts packets that are directed from a client to the server and, after processing the packets, forwards the same or modified packets towards the servers. Such an approach allows the middlebox to fully intercept and analyze requests from the users. The system includes of two logical connections, one from the client to the middlebox and one from the middlebox to the server, but both of these connections have the source and destination IP addresses set to the client and end server. The presence of the middlebox is rendered invisible to the end-users.
Existing middleboxes direct traffic in a static manner. For example, the middlebox intervenes based on specific source/destination IP addresses, IP subnets, or port numbers. Typically these static settings are changed only when the middlebox is restarted, which limits the middlebox's flexibility in the face of changing needs and network conditions.